CRII: CHS: Towards Understanding the Capability of Spatial Audio Feedback in Virtual Environments for People with Visual Impairments

虚拟现实(VR)应用已被开发到身体康复、教育、医疗保健等领域；VR技术的受益者包括儿童、老年人以及身体和行动不便的人。对各种职业的人员进行安全培训的平台，如飞行员或矿山传送带操作员，是技术贡献特别重要的一个领域。然而，不幸的是，到目前为止，大多数VR研究都是基于视觉反馈，从而排除了视觉障碍者享受这项技术的潜在好处。PI在这个项目中的目标是建立一个研究计划，通过开发允许视觉障碍者在VR中使用3D音频进行感知和运动的技术，并通过为设计师提供对未来系统的包容性指导，最终克服这一缺点。项目成果不仅将使有视觉障碍的用户受益；相反，它们也将对没有视觉障碍的人有用，他们的VR用户体验将得到增强。这一项目将为该学院的本科生提供研究机会，并将为位于该学院校园附近的亚特兰大视障人士中心的学员提供新的安全实践机会。研究将分三个阶段进行。在第一阶段，视障人士将调查视障人士在多大程度上可以准确估计声源的深度和方向。在第二阶段，他将探索界面的设计，并比较虚拟环境中基于音频的导航替代技术，重点是确定影响目标人群成员用户自信的关键因素。最后，在第三阶段，视障人士培训中心将为视障人士开发和评估虚拟培训环境。在研究设计和数据分析方面，这项工作的每个阶段都将与视障人士中心合作进行。

Virtual Reality (VR) applications have been developed for physical rehabilitation, education, healthcare and other domains; the beneficiaries of VR technology include children, the elderly, and persons with physical and mobility impairments. Platforms for the safe training of personnel in diverse occupations such as aircraft pilots or operators of conveyer belts in mines are an area where the contributions of the technology are especially important. Unfortunately, however, the majority of VR research to date has been based on visual feedback, thereby excluding persons with visual impairments from enjoying the potential benefits of the technology. The PI's goal in this project is to establish a research program that will ultimately overcome this shortcoming by developing techniques that allow persons with visual impairments to use 3D audio for perception and movement in VR, and by providing designers with inclusive guidelines for future systems. Project outcomes will not only benefit users with visual impairments; rather, they will also be useful to people without visual impairments for whom the VR user experience will be enhanced. This project will afford undergraduate student research opportunities at the PI's institution, and will provide trainees at Atlanta's Center for the Visually Impaired which is located close to the PI's campus with new safe-practice opportunities.The research will be carried out in three phases. In Phase 1 the PI will investigate to what extent persons who are visually impaired can accurately estimate the depth of, and direction of, sound sources. In Phase 2 he will explore the design of interfaces and compare alternative audio-based techniques for navigation in virtual environments, with a particular focus on determining key factors that affect user self-confidence for members of the target population. Finally, in Phase 3 the PI will develop and evaluate a virtual training environment for persons with visual impairments. Each phase of the work will be conducted in collaboration with the Center for the Visually Impaired, both with respect to study design and data analysis.